The Student of Balance
by giantsavour
Summary: Fifteen year old Hannah NightFist learns from her grandmother that she is a wizard. Not only that, when she gets to school, she realizes that she isn't just any regular wizard from Wizard City; she is a balance student, the rarest kind of wizard. And the only kind that can defeat the Spiral's greatest threat. Malistaire. Is it Hannah's destiny to save everyone?
1. Chapter 1

The Student of Balance

School of Wizardry

Hannah Frire didn't know what she was expecting. The only life she had ever known was the life she had on Earth with her grandmother. For her whole life, she hadn't even believed in magic. That is, until she turned fifteen, and her grandmother turned her world upside down.

"You're a wizard, Hannah," she had said.

Hannah was immediately reminded of one of her favourite book series, Harry Potter.

"Both your parents were wizards too. An odd bunch, they were. A student of ice and a student of fire. I told your mother that it would never work out, but I guess she really loved him, either that or she was determined to prove me wrong, because it did."

"I don't understand. Grandmother, magic isn't real. Are you feeling ok?" Hannah was beginning to feel worried. Her grandmother was old. Was her mind slowly going?

"No, it's real. I myself was a student of ice. Alas, my magic has all but left me. These old hands haven't conjured a spell since I was in my thirties."

"Ok, look, I'm going to go call your doctor."

"I'm not going crazy child!" she snapped. "The only reason I'm telling you this, is you are fifteen now. Normally, wizards go to school when they turn thirteen. However, I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk sending you there. But now I realize I have been selfish, hiding your gifts from you. It's time for you to learn how to use them."

"School?" Definitely Harry Potter.

"Open your ears, Hannah. School. It's in the center of the Spiral, in a place called Wizard City. I imagine Ambrose is still the headmaster there. He'll take you in, tell you what kind of wizard you are."

"Grandma, I'm not going to any wizard school. I already go to school, remember? Have been since I was four."

"This topic is not open for discussion! Come, follow me."

Hannah was lead into her grandmother's room. Her grandmother dug around in the closet for a few minutes, until pulling out a robe, hat and shoes. They were a light blue, with red stripes. In the center of the robe, there was a red circle. The hat was pointed, like a witch's.

"Um, what kind of clothes are those?" she asked.

Her grandmother smiled, mischievously. "Why, your new outfit, of course."

She had never been so lost in her life. It took a lot of persuading, (and a magic portal) to convince Hannah that magic was in fact real. That, she couldn't really blame her grandmother for. However, she _could _blame her grandmother for giving her a hug goodbye and shoving her through the door. Now, she appeared to be inside a tree.

Hannah cautiously stepped towards what she thought would be the door. Sure enough, she found herself bathed in the bright sunlight. That was a familiar feeling. The sights were a bit less familiar.

Teens, older and younger, were running around, most of them dressed in some kind of robe, others dressed in clothes even stranger.

"Well, someone looks lost," a voice behind her said. Hannah spun around, and found herself face to face with a girl. She was dressed head to toe in clothes that were purple.

"I'm kinda new here. Mind telling me where, uh, Headmaster Ambrose's office is?" Hannah asked.

The girl laughed. "Sure. I'm Autumn, by the way. Autumn RavenHeart. I'm a student of storm."

"Hannah Frire. Interesting last name, RavenHeart. Pretty, but strange."

"_My _name's interesting? I've never heard of a name like Frire. Where are you from?" Autumn asked.

"Earth."

"That would be why. You just don't know your wizard last name."

Without another word, Autumn turned and led Hannah through a stone tunnel, into what looked like a town square. There was a pond in the middle of the place, and buildings all around it. There were tons of students running around or lazily sitting by the pond.

"This is The Commons. Where we just came from, that was Ravenwood. That's where you'll do most of your training. Here is where most of us just hang out and relax."

"It's beautiful," Hannah breathed.

"It is. Now, come on. Follow me. Professor Ambrose's office is this way."

Autumn walked a little ways down the street, and turned into the biggest building in The Commons. The building had a little tower behind it. Inside the building, there were a few students looking at books, but it was mostly empty. An old man was sitting at the desk.

"Professor Ambrose? This is Hannah, from Earth," Autumn said.

Ambrose looked up. "Thank you, Autumn. You may go now."

Autumn nodded and left. The headmaster studied Hannah. "Where are my manners? Greetings, young wizard. My name is Merle Ambrose. I am headmaster of Wizard City."

"Hi. I'm Hannah, Hannah Frire."

Ambrose let out a bit of a laugh. "Your last name is Frire? Oh, that sounds like something your parents would do."

"My parents? You knew them?"

"Very well, in fact. Extraordinary wizards, both of them. Your father a student of fire, and your mother of ice. An uncommon match, indeed. Your last name is Frire, Hannah. What does that sound like?"

"Fire, I guess."

"Yes, but the first two letters are f-r. Freeze, or frozen. They were making a combination of their schools."

"But, they didn't just _choose _their last name! They were born with it."

"Not your parents. They fled to Earth from Wizard City. They didn't have an Earth last name, so they chose one."

"What's their real last name then?"

"You mother's was NightStar, and your fathers was SunFist. When they married, they combined their last names into NightFist. That is your last name."

"Hannah NightFist," she said, trying the word out. It sounded weird, but she kind of liked it.

"Now, follow me into the tower, and we'll determine what kind of wizard you are," he said. He got up and walked towards the tower.

"Wait, you don't know?" she called. With a sigh, she ran after him.


	2. Chapter 2

Meeting An Enemy

One would think that in a world full of wizards and magic, the test to determine my type of magic would be some kind of mystical journey, or trying out wands to see which felt the best. As it turns out, they are more like quizzes that Hannah used to take online when she was bored. Stuff like, "what do you do in your spare time?" or "what is your favourite animal?" The only difference was she had to write her answers down on a scroll.

Merle studied the scroll carefully. To Hannah's surprise, he waved his hand, and an owl flew down from somewhere in the tower and land on his shoulder. She jumped back.

"You keep _animals _in here?" she said in dismay.

"Don't you learn any manners on Earth?" the owl replied. Hannah yelped in surprise. Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

"Look here Gamma," Merle said quietly. The owl looked to be studying the scroll like Ambrose had.

"How is this possible?" it asked after a moment.

"Okay, time out. How is _what _possible?" Hannah started to feel nervous. "Did I do something wrong?"

That snapped Professor Ambrose out of his trance. "No, no, of course not, young wizard. These result are just surprising, that's all. You're not a typical type of wizard."

"And that would be what?"

"A balance wizard. The rarest kind of magic. Balance wizards tend to be wise, clever, thoughtful and charming. Famous sorcerers include Cleopatra, Margaret Thatcher and the most famous wizard of all, Merlin. Balance wizards are great at adjusting the rules of combat." His eyes sparkled.

"Right. I'm related to Merlin."

"Not exactly related," said Gamma.

"What's the difference between wizard and sorcerer? You called me both?" she asked.

"Wizard is a general term, for anyone magical. Sorcerers are balance wizards. There are also diviners, conjurers, theurgists, pyromancers, thaumaturges and necromancers."

"Gotcha." She definitely wanted to sit down. In fact, she was about to ask where the nearest couch was, when a large banging noise went off above the three wizards/owl.

"Whooo?"

"I'm not sure, Gamma. This way, young wizard. Follow me," Ambrose insisted.

Hannah ran behind him, up the tower, and into a small room. A man was standing there, his back turned. The man was dressed in all black. Beside him were two gargoyle-like creatures. Hannah stared in horror at them. She had never seen anything like them before.

"Who's there…Malistaire," Ambrose growled. Before, the old man seemed very friendly. Now he looked like he was about to commit murder.

"Hello, old man," Malistaire snarled.

"You're worrying about the guy? Do you not see the demons beside him?" Hannah hissed.

"You're no longer welcome here," Ambrose said angrily. "Why have you returned?"

"I'm here to resolve our unfinished business." He noticed Hannah standing behind Ambrose. "Is this your latest student? My henchmen will see to your little friend."

Hannah turned pale. "Wait, what? No, no, no, I just really don't think…"

Ambrose interrupted her. "Hurry along, young wizard. Take this deck of spell cards and deal with those creatures. I will do my best to interfere and make their spells weaker. Run and confront them. Be brave!"

'_Be brave?' _she thought. '_This isn't bravery, this is suicide!' _ But clearly some part of her was okay with that, because she found her feet running towards them without her permission.

"You fool. You're student is no match for my forces," Malistaire laughed.

Once she got close to them, to her surprise, the creatures ran back slightly and stood shoulder to shoulder a few feet away from her. They were standing in the middle of little circles on the floor. She glanced behind her and saw an identical pattern. With a shrug, she ran back into the middle of one of the circles.

The spell deck in her hand started glowing. Hannah reached into the deck and pulled out two cards. One was yellow and said 'troll.' There was a picture of what Hannah assumed was a troll under the words. The other was red with a picture of a red cat. It read 'fire cat.' Hannah looked at Ambrose in confusion.

"Throw the card in the middle of the large circle you're in, and trace the spell with your hands," he advised.

"Trace what now?"

"Look on the upper corner of the card," Ambrose instructed.

She held up the fire cat card. One corner had the number one. The other corner had a picture of what looked like a flame. Thinking she was crazy Hannah threw the card in the middle. She tried to trace the flames in the air, but nothing happened.

"Not yet, young wizard," Ambrose said. "Wait a minute. There are rules of engagement that every creature must follow in combat. The minions got to their circles first; they attack before you do."

They seemed only too eager to do so. One of them traced the symbol that Hannah had seen on the troll card. That very same troll that had been on the card appears and swung its club at Hannah. She ducked, instinctively, but the club didn't hit her. Instead she felt something, kind of like wind, smack her in the stomach. She doubled over. '_This must be what getting hit with magic feels like,' _she thought. She shook her head as the pain quickly vanished.

The other creature traced something green in the air, kind of like a leaf. A centaur appeared in the circle with a crossbow. It shot at her, and the arrow exploded right before hitting her, sending a wave of magic slamming into Hannah for the second time. Ambrose looked strained, as he made the centaur's attack weaken.

After the pain faded, Hannah straightened up and carefully traced a flame in the air. Luckily, it wasn't too hard, but Hannah had to try to keep herself focussed instead of staring in amazement at the red flame she had just drawn in midair. It just hovered there, so she flung her arm out, sending the spell forward. It worked. The cat came to life where her card had landed, and it attacked one of the minions.

After she had finished her attack, the cards started glowing like before. She selected the troll this time, and waited for her turn to attack.

"Watch your health," Ambrose warned, after that round was over. "I know you don't know how to check it, but you're low. Pull the other two cards out of that deck. One of them is a healing card."

When Hannah pulled them out, she saw one card was red with a flame (like the fire cat) and one was green with a leaf. It said 'unicorn' on it and had the picture right underneath. However this card had a heart on it. She assumed that meant it was a healing card. She threw it I the middle of the circle and braced herself for another round of attacks.

As the second creature finished attacking, Hannah realized that she felt far weaker than she had before. She almost felt like passing out. '_My health must be low, like Headmaster Ambrose said.' _She traced the leaf, and a unicorn appeared. Instead of facing her opponents, it faced her. The unicorn bowed, and Hannah was suddenly wrapped in green. She instantly felt better.

"Foolish creatures!" Malistaire roared. "You've let the young welp heal! Finish the child, or you'll suffer for it!"

Hannah looked at her last card. It said 'Meteor Strike' on it. That sounded good to her, but Hannah was pretty sure she was done for. She only had one more spell left, and there were still too creatures standing.

The minions attacked with stronger spells than before. By the end of that round, Hannah felt like she had before the unicorn healed her. She traced the flame in the air, and waited for her last attack.

The meteors appeared in the air, just above Hannah's head. It blasted one of them, and it collapsed. Then it simply faded away. That shocked Hannah, almost as much as when the meteor shot out again, and knocked the other minion to the floor. It too faded.

"What just happened?" Hannah was stunned.

Ambrose came up to her. "Excellent work, young wizard! Now, let me see to Malistaire…threatening a new student before orientation, no less!"

Malistaire sneered. "Another time, old man. I have what I came for. And now, I'll take my leave of this wretched place." With that, Malistaire vanished, leaving a puff of smoke left.

Ambrose looked grim. "He's gone now, but I suspect he will be back." He turned to Hannah. "Oh my! You look a bit worse for wear."

"Well, I did just get sliced by skeletons, shot at by centaurs, gotten attacked by trolls, and that was only two rounds!"

"I must say, defeating Malistaire's minions was quite impressive. And you've gained some experience. We measure experience and when a wizard has gained enough, they can learn new spells."

Hannah nodded, trying to look like she understood. Which was a lie.

"Again, I should say, I was quite impressed with your courage. There is little doubt but that a great destiny awaits you. Who knows? Maybe you'll fill my shoes and become headmaster one day."

"Uh, yeah. Maybe," Hannah said, doubting that she would be able to handle all this magic for that long.

"But now, if you'll excuse me, I have a mountain of duties to attend right now, including your enrollment. Perhaps you can take your things to your dorm."

He turned and started to leave. "Right! I'll just go do that," she called after him. Then, when he left, muttered, "So, where are the dorms?"


	3. Chapter 3

Nicholas DragonBlood

It took Hannah almost a full hour before realizing that the dorms weren't in the commons. Then it took another ten minutes to convince herself to ask one of the students. Shy wasn't usually a word to describe her, but every single student knew magic in that school except for her. They kind of scared her.

Even after all that, she was completely lost. One of the girls she had talked to said that the dorms were in Ravenwood. She was starting to think they were messing with her. All she saw were schools, students and trees.

"Well someone looks a little lost," a cheerful voice said. Hannah spun around. A boy was standing there. He looked _maybe _a year older than her, at the most. Probably only a couple of months. He was wearing a dark green robe with a satchel strapped to his side. His boots were green, and he had a green hood over his bright red hair. She may have been new to all this stuff, but Hannah was pretty sure she knew what school he was part of.

"Um, a little," she admitted. "I'm trying to find the dorms. You don't happen to know which one is mine, do you?"

The boy laughed. She liked his laugh. "What's your name, new girl?"

"Hannah Fr…er, Hannah NightFist."

"Nicholas DragonBlood, student of Life (she sooooo called it). And yeah, the dorms are on the other side of Ravenwood. Follow me."

He walked along the path until he was just in front of the arch that lead back to the commons. "See the two doors? The one on the left is the boys. Yours is on the right?"

"But, where do the other girls sleep?"

"On the right," he said, as if that should be obvious.

"That tower is _not _big enough for all of the girls. I doubt I've even seen half of them and I know that."

"Where have you been all your life? _Obviously _it's enchanted. You can only enter your own room when you step through that door. Kind of like a mini portal," he explained.

"Oh, _obviously._" She huffed. Then remembered that without Nicholas, she would still be wandering around aimlessly. "Well, thanks for the help. I think I'll just organize my stuff then."

"I can help you take your things in. That is, if I have permission," he said, wagging his eyebrows at her. Hannah became instantly jealous. She had always wanted to do that.

Part of her felt like telling him thank, but no thanks. On the other hand, he things _were _pretty heavy, and besides. Who knew what sort of magic was in her dorm?

"Uh, sure. You have permission. I guess." She was stammering way too much. "That is, for now," she said, regaining her posture.

Nicholas laughed. "Of course, milady." He grabbed one of her bags. "Lead on in."

She stared at the door for a few seconds. "Am I supposed to say some magic words, or…"

"Just open the dang door."

She turned the knob. The door swung open, revealing a plain looking bedroom. It had a bed, a rug, a bench and some table that looked like it belonged in a witch's house, but the room was empty other than that.

The green boy strode in behind her, and dropped her bags on the bed. "So, are you going to open the backpack or what?" he asked.

Hannah finally saw the backpack sitting on her bed. She opened it with caution. In the back was a large book, a map and a deck of cards. The bag seemed a little big for that.

He must have seen the look of confusion on her face, because Nicholas reassured, "It's going to be empty for a while, until you buy or earn clothes and stuff."

Opening the book, a card fell out. It looked like an I.D. card. It read, 'Hannah NightFist. Novice Sorcerer.' It also showed how much battle health she had and how much mana.

"So what are you then?" Nicholas asked.

"Sorry?"

"What kind of wizard are you? I'm a Journeyman Theurgist. You'll be a Novice to start, but a Novice what?"

"Oh. I'm a Sorcerer."

His eyes nearly boggled out of his head. "Are you serious? A Sorcerer?"

"Yeah. Is that…I mean, is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no. That's just so cool! I don't know any Sorcerers. In fact, I think there aren't any other Sorcerers in the school. Only students that take Balance as a secondary study.

"Professor Ambrose did say that a Balance Student was rare."

"Understatement. Was your mom a Balance Student or your dad?"

"Neither."

He looked confused. "But that's not possible. I'm a life student because both my parents are. There has to be at least one parent with the same magic blood."

"Well not in my case. My mother was an Ice wizard and my father was a Fire wizard."

"A thaumaturge and a pyromancer together? Your whole family is strange," he said in surprise.

Hannah looked down, embarrassed. Of course she was strange. She had always been strange. The girl with no parents. The girl with a crazy grandmother. The girl that had no idea where she came from or what happened to her family.

Nicholas wasn't trying to be mean though. He simply grinned at her and said, "Come on, oddball. I'll give you a tour."

"Oddball?"

"Fine. NightFist." With that he turned and walked out.

Hannah was about to complain, and tell him that he could just call her by her first name. But she found that she wasn't angry about that. She kind of liked the name NightFist. It was different. It was strange. It was abnormal.

Just like her.


End file.
